Stamp printing

Stamp printing - direct transfer of porcelain decorations

When producing large quantities of decorated porcelain, it is worth commissioning a factory that has a "direct print transfer machine". This high-tech process replaces the manual application of paintings or the application of sliding pictures and creates the porcelain decoration in a single production run. The "direct print transfer" shown here is known as stamp printing.

The main difference to conventional decoration production is that a "rubber punch" - a bubble-like soft body made of special plastic - picks up the decoration application from a stencil coated with ceramic colour and then transfers it to the porcelain body. The transfer process can only ever transfer one colour of decoration per "punch", whereby it applies the entire structure of the finished decoration in one process and completely in this colouring.

The ceramic colour is composed in a reservoir and applied to the board using a squeegee. The desired decor is punched into the board.

As in our video above, several stamps are required to create a colour print decoration. The number of colours depends on the design of the "decor robot". The process is very precise and is only used for large quantities due to the high production costs for the decor template. Ribbon and colour lines are then subsequently applied to a "disc" if necessary, as direct printing cannot produce such "finishing lines" at the edges of the porcelain and therefore requires so-called "free decor ends".

Unlike the ultra-modern Kerajet direct print transfer machines, this direct print stamping process is also suitable for trays and hollow bodies. Furthermore, the machines are considerably cheaper to purchase and can also be converted more quickly.